Is there anyone cooler than Dolly Parton?

Is there anyone cooler than Dolly Parton? She’s without a doubt one of a kind in country music and now in rock music. She performed a new song at the recent ACM Awards Show and the 3 fans who weren’t staring at their phones (grrrrrr!!!) seemed to have enjoyed every second of it. Take a look at the icon doing her new song…

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Some would say part of what’s making the “world on fire” is our obsession with smartphones. It’s not just the kids, either. I’m 44-years-old and feel the tether of my phone every day. It takes a lot of focus and discipline to leave the phone behind when I go anywhere! In an interesting connection to the awards show hosted by Dolly and Garth Brooks, I recently heard that the Garth Brooks show in Vegas is going to be strictly phone-free, requiring ticket holders to leave their phone at the door before they go into the venue. I actually love that idea. This isn’t the only connection to Garth. A song of his came to mind as I was listening to Dolly’s for the first time. “Standing Outside the Fire” (from 1993) is a call to action in the same way Dolly’s is.

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Fire starters. Politics, as Dolly mentions. Denying God, also written in the lyrics. It’s a great song especially when it gets to the bright, hopeful lyrics towards the end.

As I listened to the song, I kept coming back to a song by Michael Jackson called “Earth Song.” The song is pretty epic but along with the video it’s taken on another level. It was released in 1995.

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Dolly is a beloved part of American music history and I hope I can be like her one day. Are there other songs that reach this level of introspection? Perhaps “If I Can Dream” by Elvis? Chime in below with more titles and I’ll see you tomorrow!

-Out of the Wilderness